Part 23

'Why, here is a ring!' she cried, 'where could it have come from?' And picking it up she put it on her finger. As she did so the hill-man lost his power over Hans--for of course you understand that it was he who had been the dog, the cow, the horse and the dove.

'Well, that is really strange,' said the princess. 'It fits me as though it had been made for me!'

Just at that moment up came the king.

'Look what I have found!' cried his daughter.

'Well, that is not worth much, my dear,' said he. 'Besides, you have rings enough, I should think.'

'Never mind, I like it,' replied the princess.

But as soon as she was alone, to her amazement, the ring suddenly left her finger and became a man. You can imagine how frightened she was, as, indeed, anybody would have been; but in an instant the man became a ring again, and then turned back into a man, and so it went on for some time until she began to get used to these sudden changes.

'I am sorry I frightened you,' said Hans, when he thought he could safely speak to the princess without making her scream. 'I took refuge with you because the old hill-man, whom I have offended, was trying to kill me, and here I am safe.'

'You had better stay here then,' said the princess. So Hans stayed, and he and she became good friends; though, of course, he only became a man when no one else was present.

This was all very well; but, one day, as they were talking together, the king happened to enter the room, and although Hans quickly changed himself into a ring again it was too late.

The king was terribly angry.

'So this is why you have refused to marry all the kings and princes who have sought your hand?' he cried.

And, without waiting for her to speak, he commanded that his daughter should be walled up in the summer-house and starved to death with her lover.

That evening the poor princess, still wearing her ring, was put into the summer-house with enough food to last for three days, and the door was bricked up. But at the end of a week or two the king thought it time to give her a grand funeral, in spite of her bad behaviour, and he had the summer-house opened. He could hardly believe his eyes when he found that the princess was not there, nor Hans either. Instead, there lay at his feet a large hole, big enough for two people to pass through.

Now what had happened was this.

When the princess and Hans had given up hope, and cast themselves down on the ground to die, they fell down into this hole, and right through the earth as well, and at last they stumbled into a castle built of pure gold, at the other side of the world, and there they lived happily. But of this, of course, the king knew nothing.

'Will any one go down and see where the passage leads to?' he asked, turning to his guards and courtiers. 'I will reward splendidly the man who is brave enough to explore it.'

For a long time nobody answered. The hole was dark and deep, and if it had a bottom no one could see it. At length a soldier, who was a careless sort of fellow, offered himself for the service, and cautiously lowered himself into the darkness. But in a moment he, too, fell down, down, down. Was he going to fall for ever, he wondered! Oh, how thankful he was in the end to reach the castle, and to meet the princess and Hans, looking quite well and not at all as if they had been starved. They began to talk, and the soldier told them that the king was very sorry for the way he had treated his daughter, and wished day and night that he could have her back again.

Then they all took ship and sailed home, and when they came to the princess's country, Hans disguised himself as the sovereign of a neighbouring kingdom, and went up to the palace alone. He was given a hearty welcome by the king, who prided himself on his hospitality, and a banquet was commanded in his honour. That evening, whilst they sat drinking their wine, Hans said to the king:

'I have heard the fame of your majesty's wisdom, and I have travelled from far to ask your counsel. A man in my country has buried his daughter alive because she loved a youth who was born a peasant. How shall I punish this unnatural father, for it is left to me to give judgment?'

The king, who was still truly grieved for his daughter's loss, answered quickly:

'Burn him alive, and strew his ashes all over the kingdom.'

Hans looked at him steadily for a moment, and then threw off his disguise.

'You are the man,' said he; 'and I am he who loved your daughter, and became a gold ring on her finger. She is safe, and waiting not far from here; but you have pronounced judgment on yourself.'

Then the king fell on his knees and begged for mercy; and as he had in other respects been a good father, they forgave him. The wedding of Hans and the princess was celebrated with great festivities which lasted a month. As for the hill-man he intended to be present; but whilst he was walking along a street which led to the palace a loose stone fell on his head and killed him. So Hans and the princess lived in peace and happiness all their days, and when the old king died they reigned instead of him.

(From _Eventyr fra Jylland samlede og optegnede af Tang Kristensen_. Translated from the Danish by Mrs. Skavgaard-Pedersen.)

Transcriber's Note

The book includes both by-and-by and by-and-bye. Both forms are preserved as printed.

One of the illustrations refers to a cauldron, while the story uses caldron. These are preserved as printed.

Punctuation errors have been repaired. Hyphenation and use of accents has been made consistent within stories. Archaic spelling is preserved as printed.

The following typographic errors have been repaired:

Page 58--he amended to be--"... it would be unreasonable of me to object to your satisfying your appetite ..."

Page 60--undertsanding amended to understanding--"And the wolf, understanding all that might happen ..."

Page 134--windding amended to winding--"He had ridden back along a winding road from which he did not see the palace ..."

Page 137--principle amended to principal--"... but the cat lay down outside the principal gate, ..."

Page 143--kindgom amended to kingdom--"... she would bestow on him the third part of her own kingdom, ..."

Page 148--thoughout amended to throughout--"... and by-and-by 'Pinkel' became his name throughout the village."

Page 166--Bassel amended to Basset--"(_Nouveaux Contes Berberes_ par Rene Basset.)"

Page 185--forforgetting amended to forgetting--"... quite forgetting that he owed it to a mean trick."

Page 186--summonned amended to summoned--"Five minutes later he summoned five hundred lancers ..."

Page 202--belive amended to believe--"... but it seemed so different she could hardly believe it was the same."

Page 202--apapproached amended to approached--"As she spoke the gates swung back and six fairies approached, ..."

Page 211--bethrothed amended to betrothed--"... of the princess Nera, to whom the prince had been betrothed ..."

Page 324--Sodons amended to Sodnos--"... so the two Sodnos climbed into a big bushy tree which overhung a well."

Page 349--Kristen amended to Kirsten--"There was once an old couple named Peder and Kirsten ..."

Page 355--Se amended to So--"So he agreed to accept it."

Page 357--himhimself amended to himself--"... Hans disguised himself as the sovereign of a neighbouring kingdom, ..."

Page 358--AEventyr amended to Eventyr, and Zylland amended to Jylland--"From _Eventyr fra Jylland samlede og optegnede af Tang Kristensen_."

The frontispiece has been moved to follow the title page. Other illustrations have been moved where necessary so that they are not in the middle of a paragraph.